Supernatural: An Understanding
by Raistlin99
Summary: Sam Winchester is a psychic on a quest for vengeance with his brother Dean. Lenore is a vampire desperate to find a way to survive in a world that kills her kind without blinking. When they meet, Will these two souls, searching for answers, find what they want? SamXLenore
1. Chapter 1

Supernatural: An Understanding

Sam X Lenore

Author's notes: I came across this idea when I was watching the last appearance of Lenore, in season six where she gives Eve's location and Cas kills her. The way she seems to be begging Sam in particular for her death inspired me to write this. And while I research her backstory and drink my chocolate milk I hope this comes out great.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. If I did Sam would still have his powers, Gabriel would still be alive, and the Colt wouldn't seem so obsolete.

**Chapter One**

That feeling, when you're being watched. The feeling Dad trained into Sam every day of his childhood. Like, alarm bells going off in his head that trigger the fight-or-flight response of his body. That was the feeling that crept up on him as he pushed the button on the vending machine.

Every nerve was on alert. As Sam picked up the cola and walked back towards the hotel room he branched out with his hearing, trying to get a read for the source of his body's distress. Sam opened the can slowly, seemingly at ease when he was anything but. Walking back to the room, he turned the key and looked around slightly. After closing the door and letting go of the breath he was holding, Sam put the can on the counter, and that's when trouble finally found him.

Someone grabbed Sam from behind, trying to wrestle him to the ground. Shifting his weight, he pulled him to his front and threw a punch right to the mystery man's face that put him on the ground. Sam heard the exaggerated grunts of his partner coming at him from behind. Turning quickly, the hunter threw another punch right into his nose, making him fall. But Sam had only an instant to feel smug about the easy takedown before sharp pain erupted from the back of his head and darkness overtook him.

When Sam awoke his instincts jolted him awake. He was gagged and his sense of sight was impaired but he could feel the material of the hood all over his face so he knew it was covered. The smell of old leather and the rumbling noises of an engine told Sam that he was in a car and on the move. Immediately, Sam gathered as much info about his surroundings as he could. After hearing the creaking and the bumps of an old wood bridge Sam counted the distance as best he could, with every turn memorized. Finally the car stopped and rough hands pulled and pushed him inside a house and onto a chair. Sam didn't have to wait long before the captors showed themselves.

A man, tall, short dark hair, with a beard and mustache combo, wearing a light jacket over a T-shirt pulled the hood from my face. Even gagged, Sam wouldn't show fear, only resistance. The man's mouth opened just enough so Sam could see his fangs descending, proving the theory that Sam had been captured by vampires. As the vampire moved closer, Sam couldn't suppress the slight shiver of fear that coursed through him, captured, alone, without Dean to watch his back.

"Wait," a feminine voice ordered from the shadows. 'Another vampire' Sam thought, 'the leader.'

"Step back Eli," she ordered again.

The one called Eli backed away from Sam, retracting his fangs. The woman walked up to her prisoner, removed his gag and said, "My name's Lenore. I'm not going to hurt you. We just need to talk."

Sam couldn't fight the sarcasm that came next. "Talk? Yeah, ok, but I might have a tough time paying attention to much besides Eli's teeth."

Not batting an eye to the remark, she replied, "He won't hurt you either. You have my word."

Coming from a monster, a vampire no less, this was rich, comedy gold. Sam might have laughed if he wasn't tied up. "You're word? Oh yeah? Great. Thanks. Listen lady no offense, but you're not the first vampire I've met."

Lenore just kept talking, "We aren't like the others. We don't kill humans and we don't drink their blood. We haven't for a long time."

Oh man this was just getting better. "What is this? Some kind of joke?"

This time the sarcasm seemed to amuse her. "Notice you're still alive," she asked, smirking?

The captured hunter looked at Eli, just standing there, then back to Lenore. 'Oh what the hell. Might as well ask some questions,' Sam thought with a mental shrug. "Ok. Uhh, correct me if I'm wrong here but shouldn't you be starving to death?"

"We've found other ways. Cattle blood," she answered. The light bulb in my head flicked on as the facts clicked together.

"You're telling me you're responsible for-"

"It's not ideal. In fact it's disgusting. But, it allows us to get by," she answered, tilting her head slightly.

The next question was obvious. "Ok. Umm, why?"

Crossing her arms, she answered, "Survival. No deaths. No missing locals. No reason for people like you to come looking for people like us. We blend in. Our kind is almost extinct. Turns out we weren't quite as high on the food chain as we imagined."

Eli couldn't take it anymore. "Why are we explaining ourselves to this killer."

Lenore looked at him and called his name firmly, warningly.

"We choke on cow's blood so that none of them suffer. Tonight they murdered Conrad and they celebrated," Eli continued, disgusted.

"Eli that's enough," ordered Lenore, clearly angered by this challenge to her authority.

Sam didn't help matters. "Yeah Eli. That's enough," he said, amused.

"What's done is done," reasoned Lenore. "We're leaving this town tonight."

"Then why did you bring me here? Why are you even talking to me," asked Sam?

"Believe me I'd rather not, but I know your kind. Once you have the scent you'll keep tracking us. It doesn't matter where we go. Hunters will find us."

"So you're asking us not to follow you?"

"We have a right to live," she pleaded. "We're not hurting anyone."

"Right," Sam reasoned. "So you keep saying but give me one good reason why I should believe you?"

Lenore leaned in close at that. Close enough to easily smell the blood in Sam's body , to hear his heart pumping the liquid life. "Fine. You know what I'm going to do," Lenore asked ominously? "I'm going to let you go."

Sam looked at her as if she was joking, or had maybe succumbed to psychosis. Lenore stepped back and ordered, "Take him back. Not a mark on him."

As Lenore left, Sam was floored by the implications of what was right in front of him. He sat there, stunned, as Eli untied him from the chair and replaced the hood, while tying his wrists behind his back. Eli and another vampire shoved Sam into the truck and took him back to the hotel.

_A Little while later….._

Sam walked through the halls of the empty nest, carrying his wounded burden in his arms as gingerly as he could. Lenore was hurt. From the dead man's blood and the cuts from Gordon, Sam knew any human would have died by now. There was no telling how long exactly Gordon had been torturing her.

One slight trip on carpet jostled them slightly, causing Lenore to cry out in discomfort. Sam did his best to comfort the injured vampire as he finally exited the house. "It's gonna be ok Lenore," he whispered as a mantra, soothing her. "It's gonna be ok."

Lenore seemed to respond to the coaxing of Sam's voice as she nestled closer to the taller Winchester, finding safety and comfort in his arms. Later she would swear up and down it was the sickness and poisonous effects of the dead man's blood in her system that made her so vulnerable. She would never admit to feeling safe with Sam, even to herself. He was a hunter. She was a Vampire. And although she owed him, she would only admit that grudgingly at best.

Sam laid Lenore on the truck of the Impala, then moved to the side and opened the door, searching frantically for what he knew she needed. Sam had convinced Dean to stop at an animal shelter to break in and steal animal blood bags, in case one of the worst cases happened, like now. Finding the bag, one of seven Sam had been able to find, he brought it to Lenore and urged her to drink from the bag.

"No," she refused. "No Sam. I can't. I won't"

"It's not human," Sam assured her. "It's animal. We got it in case you needed it."

"Promise," she asked, looking into his eyes, searching for any malicious intent or trickery?

"I promise," Sam answered, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

Letting her fangs descend from her gums, Lenore tore into the bag and drained the contents, occasionally coughing and retching. When she finished the bag, Lenore felt a bit better. It would take some time for the dead man's blood to be gone from her system completely but the new blood would help her for now. She wiped the little bit that had escaped her mouth and tried to stand on her own, tumbling down before Sam caught her in his arms.

"Hey, be careful. You still have a lot of dead blood in you. You aren't up to full strength," Sam protested.

"Listen Sam," she said. "I'm a vampire. I'm stronger than you on my worse day. I've been looking after myself for longer than you've been alive. And while I appreciate the concern it isn't necessary." She pushed him away and started walking on her own, wobbling at first but gradually getting straighter. After a minute of walking around she came back to Sam and sat on the Impala's bumper, breathing hard.

Sam just looked at her with concern. Even though she was a vampire, someone he should be hunting, she had proven that she was different, that she didn't want to hunt humans. Whether it was that she needed his help or that she was different from other vampires like he was different from other humans, Sam wasn't sure. All he knew at that time was he wanted to help her, however he could.

"Do you have a cell phone," he asked?

"Why? Wanna take me out on a date after all this is over," she replied sarcastically?

"If you ever find yourself in this situation again, it might be helpful to have some backup," Sam answered bluntly.

"Sure why not," She said. "Sneaky way to ask for my number though. I like it." She took Sam's phone from him and entered her digits into his phone. "I have to leave Sam. I have to find the others, if that monster didn't cut their heads off." She walked over to her truck and opened the door as Sam followed her over.

"Will you be ok," he asked?

"Yeah. I could use those other blood bags though. I won't have to hunt that way and I can just keep driving," She reasoned. Sam retrieved the plastic grocery bag with the blood containers and handed it to Lenore, who stored it into the glove compartment.

She brought the engine of her pickup truck to life with a quick turn of her key, as the sun finally rose and hit her skin. To Sam's surprise, Lenore didn't even flinch. Lenore saw the confused expression on his face and answered his unspoken question. "It's the animal blood. It makes the sun tolerable. One of the good side effects of my diet," she joked.

Lenore put the truck into drive and Sam stepped back so he wouldn't get hit accidentally. "Take care of yourself," He said.

"Don't worry Sam. You'll see me again," she replied, smiling, before pushing the gas and driving the truck down the road and out of sight. Sam looked to where she drove away, transfixed for a moment. To him it was weird, as himself and Dean and usually the ones to drive away. Speaking of Dean, Sam walked back into the house to find it trashed and Gordon tied up to a chair while Dean looked like he got into a fight with Chuck Norris and Chuck took pity on him and left.

"Did I miss anything," Sam asked nonchalantly?

"Nahh, not much," Dean answered, equal in expression. "Did Lenore get out ok?"

Sam replied, "Yeah. All of them did," speaking to Gordon with that answer.

"Well then I guess our work here is done," Dean declared. "How you doing Gordy? Gotta tinkle yet," Dean asked, taunting a tied up Gordon? "Alright. Well Get comfy. We'll call someone in two or three days, have 'em come out, untie you."

"Ready to go Dean," Sam asked?

"Not yet," dean answered before walking in front of Gordon. "I guess this is goodbye. It's been real," Dean said before punching the rouge vampire hunter in the chin hard enough to knock the chair and Gordon along with it to the ground. "OK. I'm good now. We can go," Dean declared before leaving the house, Sam following closely.

After some Winchester banter and a little emotional Heart to Heart Sam and Dean got into the Impala and rode off into the distance, searching for the next hunt.

**Well that's chapter one. Review and tell me what you think. It's been a while since I've written anything so constructive reviews are the most help right now. Thanks a lot. Raistlin99 out.**


	2. Chapter 2

Here's Chapter two for those who have read so far. This is from the episode Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. So here's to some good old fashioned monster hunting and Sam x Lenore goodness. Also I don't have chocolate milk this time *cries anime tears.* I did watch season 3 of Adventure Time though so I guess that makes up for it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. Also, am I the only one that thinks Colt plus Gabriel equals dead Lucifer?

**Chapter Two**

As the sun rose over the back roads of the American Midwest, an antique black car thundered over the asphalt. The Impala's engine hummed as gas was pumped into it by Dean. Intent on the road ahead, he missed the subtle vibrating of Sam's phone as he got yet another text. Sam opened his phone, scanned the message and replied quickly, sending his answer with the push of a few buttons.

"Cmon Sam. I'm begging you. This is stupid," Dean said suddenly.

"Why," asked Sam, bewildered?

"Going to visit mom's grave," Dean asked rhetorically? "She doesn't even have a grave. There was no body left after the fire."

Sam answered matter -of-factly, "She has a headstone."

"Yeah. Put up by our uncle, a man we've never even met. You wanna pay your respects to a slab of granite put up by a stranger? C'mon."

"Dean, that's not the point."

"Well then, enlighten me Sam."

"It's not about a body or a casket. It's about her memory. Ok?" Dean shrugged sarcastically. "And after dad it just feels like the right thing to do."

"It's irrational, is what it is."

"Look man, no one asked you to come."

At that Sam's phone vibrated again and this time Dean noticed it. As Sam opened his phone, Dean got a quick look at the message. _Are you ok?_, it said.

"Who you keep texting anyway," Dean asked casually? "Still talking to some of those college buddies?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably, as if caught doing something he shouldn't. "No," he answered slowly. "Just a friend."

"We don't have friends Sam, so spill," Dean ordered teasingly. "Some girl at one of the bars we've been to? Or maybe it's that Sarah girl from New York. I remember you had a real thing for her."

"No, umm," Sam fumbled. He knew he wasn't going to be able to keep this from Dean forever. He also knew Dean wouldn't be happy about it. "It's Lenore."

Dean's head turned so fast that Sam was amazed he didn't have whiplash. "Are you insane Sam? She's a vampire. We almost killed her and her friends and suddenly you and her are texting buddies? Since when has this been going on," he demanded?

"Ever since we rescued her from Gordon," Sam admitted. "I got her number in case Gordon or some other hunter came after her again and we just started talking.

"So you're BFF's with a vampire now, is that it," Dean accused.

"Lenore isn't some random fang preying on people and you know that Dean so don't be so judgmental. Besides it's not like we don't need as many friends as we can get if we're hunting down the yellow- eyed demon," Sam reasoned.

"Well you're right on that," Dean agreed and kept driving towards Kansas.

**At the cemetery**

After tearfully burying his dad's dog tags at the headstone, Dean noticed the dead plants in a perfect circle around a fresh grave. After doing some investigating, he told Sam his findings. Sam was skeptical and thought Dean was just trying to cope. As the Winchester drove to meet the father of the deceased, Sam sent a quick text to Lenore: _Possible hunt in Kansas. Checking it out with Dean. _

A few moments later, a reply came in: _In the town where your mom is buried? That seems odd._

_ No kidding. Dean is serious about it though. _

_ You need help? I'm in Oklahoma right now._

_ Maybe. I don't want to waste your time if it's nothing. I'll let you know later._

_ Ok._

_ How're you holding up after Eli?_

_ I'll be fine. We weren't mates so his death wasn't a huge blow for me. Still hurt though. He was a good friend._

_ I'm sorry. I didn't think Gordon would be on the trail so quickly._

_ It's fine. A broken leg and two broken ribs will slow him down for quite a while. _

_I'm just glad you're ok._

"Sam. Quit sweet talking your blood-sucking girlfriend. We're here," Dean stated.

Sam rolled his eyes and put his phone away, "So what are we going as today. Cops? Lawyers? Insurance agents,"

Dean smiled about his favorite part of his job: impersonating other people. "Nahh. I figure we go simple this time. Friends of the deceased."

"You know that requires some knowledge of the deceased, which we have none," Sam reasoned.

"The man's grieving Sam. Nothing we can't wing."

**In the hotel room**

After Dean left to go get his drink, Sam sat by himself, wishing he knew how to help Dean get through this. He lost both mom and dad to the yellow-eyed demon and instead of dealing with it in a healthy way, he pushed down the pain and went for more dangerous hunts to cope. The alcohol didn't help either.

As Sam contemplated his problem, a knock sounded on the door. Sam knew Dean wouldn't be back for some time and he wouldn't have knocked. Grabbing his pistol from their bags, Sam approached the door slowly before asking, "Who is it?"

"Housekeeping," came the reply.

Years of hotel stays taught Sam that housekeeping didn't work this late. He opened the door, prepared to fight whoever had come after them. Sam had a long list of people that would want to get even with the Winchesters. Demons, Shapeshifters, hell, even Gordon would want some payback. He wasn't prepared for what lay on the other side of that door, however.

The long dark hair, deep blue eyes, and dazzling smile that Sam's hadn't been able to get out of his mind stood at his door, looking at him. "Lenore," Sam exclaimed. "I thought you were in Oklahoma."

"Yeah that got boring. Nothing but mountains and hillbillys. Not even a decent pig to enjoy," She said stepping into his room. Sam followed her, closing the door. When she heard the lock click she turned around and hugged the taller man. Sam returned the hug, finding comfort in her presence. "I'm sorry about your mom , Sam. I just had to come and make sure you were ok."

"Thanks. I needed that," Sam answered, breaking from the hug and sitting on the bed.

Lenore sat next to him. "So did the hunt pan out yet?"

"I don't think there is a hunt here. I think Dean is deflecting."

Smiling, Lenore answered, "Well he doesn't exactly have someone that he can talk to that relates, besides you. But Dean's not the open up type."

"No he's not," Sam agreed.

"How'd you even find out where we were?"

"Vampire nose," she whispered. "Trade secret, that."

"I forgot about that one."

"That's ok. It's not like we vampires shout our abilities for all the world to hear." She reached out and grabbed Sam's chin. "Are you really ok Sam? Losing your dad, then coming to the place that reopens the wounds losing your mom caused, that doesn't exactly scream fun road trip."

Grabbing her hand, rubbing it with his thumb unconsciously, Sam replied, "I'm dealing. I'm just worried about Dean."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He just needs time Sam. You're there for him as well. From what you told me Dean practically worshipped your dad. His loss will hurt for some time. Once you kill that demon I bet Dean will feel better."

"You're probably right," Sam agreed, staring at her eyes. As he watched her eyes lowered to his lips and she brought her face to his before kissing him slowly. Sam returned the kiss blissfully before his brain turned back on and Sam pulled away quickly and walked over to the window, missing the look of hurt that passed over Lenore's face.

"What's wrong Sam," she asked? He remained silent, trying to put his thoughts in order before potentially hurting the powerful vampire he had befriended and who obviously wanted more. His silence only made her fill the silence with her hidden fears. "Is it because I'm a vampire? That I have to drink blood to survive? Are you disgusted by me Sam?"

Sam turned around in alarm. He hadn't meant for her to take his silence as dismissal or worse as she was. He walked to the bed and tried to grab her hand but she pulled it from his grasp and turned away. Sam grabbed her shoulders and forced her to turn towards him. She reacted violently, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him down onto his back on the bed, pinned by her strong grip on his neck, her fangs descended in her rage. Sam simply looked at her. He looked right into the blood drinker's eyes. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't disgusted. He just smiled.

Lenore saw his smile and felt her stomach do a backflip. That smile made her weak at the knees, not that Sam would EVER know that. She retracted her fangs, her anger at him fading. After removing her hand from around his neck, she moved off him and walked to the window, trying to get her emotions under control.

Sam simply watched her struggle with her duality, the vampire that thirsted for his blood and the human that he now realized thirsted for him. "Lenore, you know I don't have a problem with who you are, what you are, and what you drink. I just think this is a little fast for me. My head is spinning here. I just need some time. To think things through," he tried to explain.

Lenore simply took a deep breath at hearing Sam's words. The tension in her shoulders relaxed as he eased her fears. She turned around and gave him a smile that made **his **stomach do a backflip. She walked over and sat next to him and hugged him, burying her head into him like when he had saved her life. She sighed contently, before looking into his eyes and nodding, understanding. While she was a creature of impulse and instinct, Sam was a thinker. He had plans and he liked it that way. Sam just wanted time to think about their potential. She would let him have that. She also knew Dean would play a huge role in how they interacted. While Dean had saved her life with Sam, she held no illusions about how he would feel about his baby brother being with a vampire, or having to be around one for any length of time, even though she wouldn't be trying to snack on the boys.

They sat on the bed, entwined in each others arms till Lenore felt Sam's pulse slow down and his weight lean into her more. She looked at him and suppressed a laugh. Sam had fallen asleep on her. She loved it. For the battle-hardened Winchester to fall asleep on her meant he was completely comfortable with her and trusted her with his life. Such a small gesture meant volumes to her. She slowly and carefully disentangled herself with Sam and laid him gently on the bed so he could get some good rest. She lay in the bed next to him and was surprised when Sam's arm had pulled her against him in sleep. Her smile stayed on her face as she fell asleep next to him.

**The next morning…**

Dean was not a patient man. This was only made worse when it dealt with the things in the night he hunted with extreme prejudice. Sam questioning how he did his job had thoroughly annoyed him to the point he had went to a bar and hooked up with a cute red head at the university to blow off steam. He was feeling pretty good when he walked into the room and all his good feelings went straight down the drain.

Here, in his room, was the vampire he had helped save a few weeks back. To make matters worse, she was in Sam's bed, asleep, curled up with him. The whole scene before him screamed 'WRONG.' Every fiber in his being wanted to cut her head off right there and then beat Sam into the next decade. He had already punched Sam once this month. He was still wary of Sam deciding he wanted to even the score. Damn if his little brother didn't hit hard. He took a deep breath to calm himself and decided he'd play this cool. He needed Sam more than ever after their Dad died and he wasn't about to drive Sam off because of some vampire chick.

Dean kicked the bed and said, "Rise and shine Sammy."

Sam simply groaned in response. He noticed Lenore and had a confused look on his face. Dean watched, amused, as Sam checked to see if his clothes were still on and almost laughed when he saw Sam let out a relieved sigh. Leave it to his gargantuan brother to be happy about not getting laid.

Lenore just looked at the clock and flopped back onto the pillow. Sam slowly woke up and started brushing his teeth. As he did this Dean said, "So there is a job here. You know that girl that died in the car crash? Turns out, her boyfriend committed suicide last night. Slit his own throat. Because that's normal."

Sam rinsed his mouth and replied, "OK you were right."

Dean just continued on, "And he was seeing Angela everywhere he went. But that's probably just me transferring my feelings of grief."

"Ok Dean. I get it."

"Can you both shut up," came Lenore's muffled voice from the pillow?

"Right well let's go get some breakfast. Lenore can visit the local animal shelter," Dean joked.

"Die in a-" Lenore stopped herself before she said 'fire.' Sam was already sad about his mom without bringing it up inadvertently.

Dean ignored her and dragged Sam out of the room and to the local diner, leaving Lenore to find her own breakfast.

**The next day**

Talking to Angela's friend was a dead end and so was trying to burn her bones. Her body was gone. And inscribed in her coffin were Greek Necromancy symbols. Dean went to talk to the father, convinced it was him and scared the man so bad he tried calling the police. They left after seeing healthy plants in the house. Lenore didn't go inside but with her heightened senses she could hear every word. She also heard Sam admit he was afraid of losing Dean to his reckless attitude lately. She had to fight not to go to him. Sam needed to handle Dean on his own; her presence would only make it worse to the grieving hunter.

Once they returned to the hotel, Lenore had decided to make her presence known. She helped the Winchesters research zombie lore and almost punched Dean when he asked it she felt bad hunting down her cousin. They determined silver was the most likely way to kill a zombie and loaded up their guns, Sam giving his personal one to Lenore.

The snuck into Neil's house, searching for the zombie. Dean couldn't help with the jokes. "Neil," he shouted? "It's your grief counselors. We've come to hug." When there was no answer, the three slowly moved through the house. Dean whispered, "Yatzee," when he saw the dead plants and when he saw the dead bolt on the basement door he looked at Sam and said, "Unless that's where he keeps his porn…"

They searched the basement and found an "empty zombie den" according to Sam. "Could she be going after someone," asked Lenore?

Dean messed with a nearby vent shaft cover and found it barely holding to the wall and leading to the outside. "Nahh I think she went out to rent Beaches."

"Look smartass, she might kill someone. We gotta find her Dean," Sam said, annoyed.

"Yeah," Dean admitted, defeated. "Ok so she clipped Matt because he was cheating, right?"

"Yeah," replied Sam.

"Well it takes two to, you know, have hardcore sex." Sam and Lenore gave him a "really?" look. "I don't know it just seems that Angela's roommate was really broken up over Matt's death."

Lenore asked, "So you think she's the next target?"

Dean said, "I mean, REALLY broken up." And they left to find the roommate.

They found zombie Angela about to cut herself a slice, literally, of her roommate with a pair of scissors. Dean aimed and shot her twice. Angela turned around and was shot again before fleeing through the back door. Dean gave chase while Sam protected the roommate. Dean came back swearing, "Damn that dead chick can run."

Lenore finally walked through the back door where Dean came through and said, "I lost her too. She really can move."

Sam asked, "What now?"

Dean replied, "I say we have a chat with Neil," and left Sam and Lenore to tend to the girl.

As they drove the Impala to the college, looking for Neil, Sam was nose deep in their dad's journal, looking for another way to kill the zombie. "So the silver bullets did something right?"

Dean agreed, saying, "Yeah, something, but not enough. What else you got?"

Sam poured over the lore again and found something similar. "OK, besides silver we have 'nailing the undead back into their gravebeds.' It's mentioned a few times. It's probably where the vampire staking lore came from."

"For which I'm grateful," Lenore chimed in.

Dean only became more agitated. "Gravebeds? You serious? How the hell are we gonna get Angela back to the cemetery?"

Lenore tapped Sam on the shoulder from the backseat and whispered, "I have an idea."

**At the Cemetery **

After confronting Neil and lying about the magical ritual, the trio set up a fake but convincing looking ritual and waited for Angela to show up. Suddenly they heard a noise and Sam unsafetied his pistol and carefully approached where the noise had come from. After entering the tree line Angela tried to sneak up on Sam. When that didn't work she tried pleading with him. Sam simply shot her in the forehead. About three seconds after being shot Angela recovered and Sam took off, running towards Dean and Lenore.

Being faster, Angela tripped Sam and a crack could be heard throughout the graveyard as Sam's wrist snapped from the fall and Sam yelled in agony. Angela leapt onto Sam's back, grabbed his head, and started twisting, trying to break it. Suddenly, Lenore came hurling at the undead woman, vampire fangs bared, and tackled her off Sam. Lenore started beating Angela with all the anger and vampire strength she possessed. When Angela went limp, Lenore hesitated for a split second, but that was all Angela needed. Kicking Lenore off her, she ran at Sam, intent on finishing the job. Dean appeared behind her and started shooting silver into her decaying body. Angela fell back from each impact until she fell straight into her casket. As Lenore ran to tend to Sam, Dean rushed into the grave and staked Angela. As he drove it deeper, she yelled for him to stop, but Dean was unmoved. He drove it through her with one last push and ended her undead existence. And classic Dean had a one liner for the situation, "What's dead should stay dead."

Getting out from the grave Dean ran to where Sam lay and Lenore tried to ease his pain. Sam was cradling his wrist, but the skin wasn't broken and the bone wasn't poking through. All good signs.

"Dean, his wrist is broken," Lenore reported. "We have to get him to a hospital."

Dean looked at his brother in pain, guilt painted all over his features. When Dean looked like he was going to fall apart Lenore slapped him, hard. "Focus Dean. I'll get him to the Impala. You have to get him to the hospital. I'll clean up here." She said with authority born out of her desperate worry for Sam. She wanted to go with him, but hospitals, with all that blood, well she didn't want to take chances. Also Dean had all the knowledge of the fake Id's Sam and him would use at the hospital.

Dean seemed to come to himself after the slap and ran to the Impala, bringing the engine to life with a roar, and opened the passenger door from the inside, waiting for Sam to be brought to him.

Lenore simply knelt down and whispered, "It's going to be ok Sam. Dean's going to get you help. I know this will hurt but bear it for a little while." She whispered something else in a language Sam didn't understand. Even if he did he wouldn't have comprehended it in the haze of pain emanating from his wrist. Lenore picked him up, bridal style, and carried him quickly to the Impala, trying not to jostle him as she walked. After setting him inside the antique car and watching them drive off towards the nearest hospital, Lenore started clearing the graveyard of all traces they were there, and worked until dawn.

A few days and a cast later, Sam was released from the hospital. Lenore and Sam tried to convince Dean to visit Mary's grave once more but Dean was adamant they move onto the next hunt. Lenore took her own truck and followed the Winchesters. She wouldn't leave until she knew that Sam was completely healed.

As the miles past by in the Impala, Dean couldn't take it anymore and pulled over. Getting out of the car, he sat on the hood. Sam followed, worried and asked him what was wrong. Dean apologized for his erratic behavior and told Sam how he felt: how he blamed himself for their dad's death, how he felt he shouldn't be alive, how he was certain John had traded his life and the Colt for Dean's life, and how it ate him up inside. Sam listened patiently for Dean to finish. Finally, Dean simply asked Sam, as a single tear fell from his eye, "What could you possibly say to make that alright?"

Sam had no words for Dean, no matter how hard he tried. He was happy that Dean had let him in and Sam wished he could lift the ever increasing burden from his brother's shoulders. As they sat in silence, waiting for Lenore to catch up, Sam and Dean watched the sun set over the mountains, and the full moon rise.


	3. Chapter 3

Well here we are: Chapter 3. This took me a while because I was torn about whether to do another canon chapter or to be original. You'll have to read to find out. The drink of the day is the gift of life: Water, and tea. However, I am listening to hardstyle in the background. It's called the haunter of the dark for those interested. Hopefully this will help me get the creative… juices… flowing(who made up this phrase?) Also special thanks to my 3 followers so far. I love getting the email saying I have a new follower. I save them. But as an apology for the long delay an extra long chapter for your viewing pleasure.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. Eric Kripke does. I salute you good sir.

**Chapter 3**

After Dean's tearful confession to Sam on the hood of the Impala, Sam decided they needed a short break from hunting. Instead they would increase the money they had so they wouldn't be so broke on the next hunt. Between the silver for their bullets and gas for the Impala, They burned through money quickly. Dean loved his baby, but even he admitted the Impala drank gas like he did alcohol.

They stopped in a little town in Ohio. Dean would go to the local dive bars and hustle pool and poker while Sam and Lenore would wait tables at these same bars. Sam wanted to make money doing honest work and at the same time keep an eye out for Dean. While alcohol soaked bar tenants are easy marks for the trained, they also tend to be sore losers. It also doesn't help when some random patron catches Dean cheating. They've had to leave town more than once due to an observant eye.

A few days of this and unsurprisingly, Dean made the most money, with Lenore coming in a few hundred behind him. Sam was last but he expected that. He didn't like flirting with bar girls. Lenore being there only made it more awkward, even though she assure Sam she was a big girl and he would be doing it for the extra tips. She couldn't help but smirk when he was acting awkward towards these ladies, but inside she was pleased that Sam wanted to be true to her, even though they weren't dating or anything. They weren't even sleeping together and Sam felt a sense of loyalty to her. She couldn't help but love that about him.

After pooling their money and making almost three thousand in a few days, Sam decided they had enough and they could leave town. Dean took a hundred for himself, saying there was a girl at the bar yesterday that caught his eye and that he would be back in the morning. Lenore simply laughed and told him he'd be back in a few hours after striking out. A quick retort from Dean and he was gone. Lenore had seen Dean with the bar girls and would admit he had skills, but the playful nature that Sam brought out of her and the need to tease Dean unmercifully since Sam wouldn't caused her to make jokes. Dean seemed to accept and return just as good as he got. Lenore couldn't believe her life in there moments. She still drained forest animals to survive, and she still wouldn't let Sam come with her, since she didn't want him to see her like that, but traveling with two hunters, one whom she was nursing a very obvious crush on, made Lenore's head spin about how different her life is now.

Sam sat at his computer, searching newspaper articles for strange, unexplained deaths that could be the next hunt waiting to be found. Lenore just watched as Sam scanned story after story, making notes on a piece of paper. His face was scrunched up in concentration as he absorbed all the information that was presented to him, his Stanford side coming out. Lenore soon became acutely aware that she and Sam were completely alone. Last time he shot him down, and she had been patient. Now her patience was at an end and she decided right then that tonight she would have the younger Winchester.

She moved from the bed to the bathroom and grabbed the bag she had hidden underneath the sink. Inside was some makeup and perfume that if Dean saw it he would tease her about it for weeks. She applied some light makeup and a few sprays of a perfume she hoped Sam would like. She didn't exactly have anyone to ask about Sam's tastes. Bobby Singer didn't even know about the very slow relationship developing between her and Sam. The boys were worried about what their father figure would say, having hunted for longer than either of them. He was also slightly opinionated and she couldn't say she wasn't afraid of meeting the veteran hunter.

Lenore finally left the bathroom, slightly dolled up and wearing better clothes than her norm. She approached Sam, whose nose picked up her perfume and his brow creased in confusion while his heartbeat quickened, making Lenore swoon slightly, knowing she made the psychic boy have certain emotions. It was only Sam's impressive concentration that made him ignore the perfume and continue trying to work. Lenore was having none of that, however, and wrapped her arms around Sam's muscular chest and placed soft kisses of the back of his neck.

The effect was immediate. Sam's breath hitched and his shivered ever so slightly, while his heart rate shot up in surprise. Lenore pulled his chair away from the desk and she straddled his lap, pulling him into a fierce tongue war. As the kiss deepened, Lenore could feel his blood moving to specific regions, and she smiled, realizing her seduction was working. She shed her shirt and kissed her way down Sam's neck, biting at his pulse point without her fangs. A part of her realized she was near a warm, blood-filled body, the rest of her recoiled at the thought of her drinking from him. She physically shuddered from trying to control her bloodlust.

Sam, in a haze of lust, though she was shaking from her actions. He pulled her mouth closer against his neck, unaware of the pain her was causing her. She jumped off him running to the other side of the room, whispering, 'No' like a mantra, horrified. To make matters worse, her fangs decided they would descend at that exact moment, making tears fall from Lenore, shattered at how badly her planned evening had turned out.

Sam knew the moment she jumped off him something was wrong. Shaking his head to clear the lust-filled haze, he breathed deep to calm his heartbeat and walked slowly to Lenore, not wanting to startle her. She was crying and whispering in the corner like an animal. She gasped when she realized Sam was slowly making his way over to her.

"Sam, no," she said weakly. She was truly torn in this moment. She wanted Sam to comfort her with his soft words and understanding eyes. At the same time she couldn't bear letting Sam see her struggling to control the vampire inside her. Sam just disregarded her and sat next to her, waiting for her to open up slightly.

Sam looked at her and his heart melted. She was hurting, badly. His deductive brain put two and two together and formed an idea of what just happened in his mind. He knew Lenore cold be fiercely proud of her vampire nature at times she had to be strong, but when they were alone, when she could just be the girl that Sam had rescued from Gordon, Sam knew she was ashamed of her vampire self, and loathed it, just as she loathed herself in those moments. She felt she was unclean.

"Lenore. Please. Don't hide from me. You know I accept you for all that you are," Sam declared, trying to make her feel better.

She just seemed to cry harder. 'Nice job genius,' a voice in Sam's head laughed. Sam decided the slow approach wasn't working and he would have to go big or go home. Sam grabbed Lenore forcefully and pulled her against him, holding her tight. Lenore started fighting against him weakly, even as she relaxed in his embrace. "Sam I-"

"Don't hide from me Lenore," Sam commanded. "When I say all of you I mean all of you," he said and kissed her while her vampire fangs were down.

Lenore was shocked to her core. She thought for sure that Sam, as a hunter, would be repulsed by her fangs, yet here he was, kissing her even though they were down. He was kissing her so hard she wanted to bleed for him. She kissed him back, losing herself in the kiss, not even realizing her fangs were retracting as she relaxed.

She pulled back and being completely vulnerable, asked, "You really don't mind my fangs?"

Sam just chuckled slightly. "They're a part of you. They're every bit as beautiful as you are."

Lenore felt better and kissed the Winchester harder, her earlier plan coming back to the front of her mind. She pushed Sam onto the bed and turned off the lights, before joining him in the sheets.

**The next morning**

Dean was getting some breakfast for him and Sam at a local fast food breakfast joint when his cell phone rang. Dean looked at the phone and saw it was Bobby. Dean sighed. He could let it go to voicemail but then Bobby would worry. Public wasn't exactly the best place to talk about a hunt but it would have to do as Dean was still in line.

"Hey Bobby."

"Dean. It's good to hear your voice boy. It's been a while since you've called. I had to make sure you haven't been eaten yet," Bobby said, chuckling slightly.

"Nahh me and Sam are in Ohio. He's still sleeping so I'm grabbing some breakfast and caffeine."

"Well ain't that nice of you. Listen Dean I think I have a lead on something."

Dean couldn't help it. "Yellow eyes?"

"No. That bastard seems to be in hiding. I've been in constant contact with Ash at the Roadhouse but still nothing. Him making sense of your dad's research is nothing short of miraculous. Your dad wasn't exactly the sharing type."

"Yeah. So what's this lead," Dean asked, changing the subject. John was still a sore spot for him, even with Bobby.

"That's the thing. I'm not sure what it is. Could be some travelers just going missing or…"

"Or it could be one of the hundred different things that we know and love. Got a general area?"

"Well ironically you're not far from it. From what I can tell, the disappearances are centered around the Ohio river. I'm thinking some kind of aquatic creature."

"Or it could be Wisconsin all over again."

"No. This doesn't seem like angry spirit. The locals aren't being targeted so far."

"Alright. I'll go wake up Sam and check it out. Hang on Bobby I have to order," Dean said before ordering his and Sam's food and caffeine.

"Well you boys be careful. There's no telling when Yellow eyes'll want payback for that shot to the leg Sam gave him."

"Alright Bobby. We'll call you when we get settled in," Dean said and hung up, grabbing the food and driving back to the motel.

As Dean entered the motel room, he was unprepared for the scene that he walked into: Sam, passed out on the bed with Lenore, his arm's draped protectively around her, comforting. Various articles of clothing were strewn around the floor and chairs and the faint smell of sweat and lust permeated the air. It was a smell Dean knew all too well.

Torn between giving the two lovebirds time to wake up on their own or to rouse them due to the urgency of the job, Dean simply stood in the doorway, internally debating. Suddenly, the air conditioning kicked on and churned the air of the room, bringing Dean's human and hunter smell right into the slumbering vampire's nose.

Lenore woke with a start, her preservation instincts kicking in at Dean's scent and she was alert for danger with her fangs descended. As she looked up and saw Dean, her mind cleared itself of the haze of sleep and she was able to remember where she was and who she was with. She retracted her fangs and whispered an apology to Dean. She was pleased to notice he didn't make any threatening gestures when her fangs were shown. Dean simply nodded and placed the provisions on the table before closing the door behind him as he stepped outside to give Lenore and Sam some privacy while they awoke and dressed.

Lenore was simply on cloud nine. Once her mind started to work again, she remembered her night spent with Sam. He was simply everything she wanted. Not too rough but she wasn't a vampire for nothing, and he was able to really please her. She did her share of pleasing as well but Sam was, for lack of a better word: perfect, at least for her. There aren't a lot of women that could live with the hunter life style. That percentage sharply fell when you added her supernatural elements into the equation.

The fact that his older brother, the Protecter, the Rock, accepted her as well was more than she could have ever hoped for. Dean was a hunter. He killed the supernatural. The fact he seemed to have no problem with his younger brother being with a vampire was something she would never have thought possible. She thought Dean would behead her the moment she showed any kind of interest in Sam. She expected it actually. His support meant almost as much as Sam returning her feelings. For the first time in decades, she felt like she had found someplace she could belong.

Lenore nudged Sam and kissed his nose, trying to gently ease him from his slumber. Sam sleepily protested and rolled over. Grinning mischievously, Lenore resorted to a much more devious and underhanded tactic. She tickled his sides.

The effect was immediate. Sam choked, holding back the laugh. He jumped from the bed and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Lenore just laughed, loving every second of his reaction. She would have to do this much more often.

After Sam left the refuge of the bathroom and he and Lenore dressed, Sam fetched Dean, who was listening to Black Sabbath on his phone with the head phones in. As they started to eat, Lenore drinking from a blood bottle she had made the day before, Dean filled them in on the job.

Afterwards, they packed up their possessions and check out, returning to the road. As the scenery and the mile markers went by, Dean couldn't help but crack some jokes at Sam. "So. How's it feel to not be a virgin anymore?"

Sam chuckled. "Fish have to swim Dean."

"And men have to lay down pipe. Don't get me wrong Sammy, I'm proud of you. Vampire girl wouldn't have been my first choice. Hell she wouldn't have been a choice but at least she's pretty."

"And you're just ok with this? You? She's a vampire."

"It would make for some awkward family photos when you're a hundred and she still looks the same, but otherwise I'm ok. She doesn't hurt humans. Besides the freaky strength, speed, and pain tolerance, she's just a normal girl that has brain damage."

"Brain damage?"

"Well she's not into me at all. She's into you."

Sam laughed, a good full laugh. Something Dean was afraid he would never see on Sam again after Jessica's death. Lenore seemed to be healing the scars and filling the hole in his heart. Dean was happy for them. The fact that she was a grade A drinking buddy did play into her favor a bit as well.

"She doesn't hurt humans. As long as she toes that line me and her have no beef. Plus having a girl around gives me endless opportunities to tease my little brother," Dean said with a smirk.

Sam was nearly in shock. Dean just accepted her. Sam couldn't believe it. He had to pinch himself to make sure this wasn't a dream. He could only hope that Bobby and Ellen felt the same way. Still, Dean's little dig at the end called for a, "Jerk."

"Bitch."

After some hours on the road, the trio finally arrived at Portsmouth. They found a small motel and surprisingly, Dean bought a second room for himself. When they were about to ask, Dean simply said with a wink, "You two don't get to have all the fun."

The brothers went to the local police station to get information using their fake credentials. Lenore went hunting to restock her blood supply for the next day or so. Meeting up, they combed the missing persons reports and the area maps of where the victims were last seen. They also searched local newspapers and area lore from here and three towns in every direction.

As they were finishing another map search, Dean's phone rang. "Finally, a distraction," Dean muttered and hit accept. "Hey Bobby."

"Don't hey Bobby me, boy. What happened to calling me when you got settled in?"

"Sorry, Me and Sam were getting missing persons reports from the cops."

"Well I've been looking into this as well. There have been at least ten missing persons in the same month once every ten years, same gender ratio: three men and seven women. Guess which month and year it is"

Dean sighed in frustration," I just love working on a timetable. So that hiker group was two and two right?"

"Yeah. Which means our baddy still has five women and a man to collect."

"Guess we don't have much time left to gank em. Alright I'll let Sam know. Thanks Bobby."

"No problem. If this gets bigger than you boys can handle alone, call me, I'll be there as quick as I can. And tell that Idgit brother o yours to call me. Haven't heard his voice in a week."

"Will do Bobby, thanks," Dean promised, and hung up the phone.

"So Bobby find anything new," Sam asked?

Dean spent the next few minutes filling them in and scratched off the past few hours of work they had done. Lenore suggested they go and get some food so they left the motel and went to the nearest bar for burgers and booze, Dean's favorite combo. After a night of relaxing and drinking, Sam and Lenore went back to their hotel room while Dean stayed at the bar. After a few more drinks and a few phone numbers, Dean stumbled back to his motel room and passed out.

**Elsewhere in the town**

A man was jogging, listening to his ipod. The headphones were loud and it was dark. It was no wonder he didn't notice his attacker until it was too late.

When the man regained consciousness, he felt himself being dragged through the forest. He could smell the grass and the dirt, his skin cut in various places from the rocks in the ground. The splash of the Ohio river could be heard as well as the grunts of exertion from his attacker. He tried to struggle, but his body wouldn't obey his command. Finally, the assailant stopped dragging him, stopping at the base of a huge tree. He finally started to regain some feeling and looked up at the tree.

As he did so, the kidnapper grabbed his chin and pulled upwards, keeping his mouth shut. The kidnapped jogger tried to scream but it was muffled, as he couldn't open his mouth. He heard a scraping noise, as if metal was scraping against metal. He felt the cold touch of a blade against his throat and was paralyzed by fear, the fear and knowledge that his death was about to happen. As the metal slit his throat and his warm blood sprayed from his arteries onto the forest floor, he felt pain, then mind numbing cold, until he knew no more forever.

**Back at the motel**

Sam woke to the feeling that something was wrong, terribly wrong. He didn't know what it was, but his instincts told him that everything was not alright. He dressed and sat on the computer, looking for more leads and hoping the feeling would dissipate. Lenore eventually awoke and joined him in the search. The lore of the land yielded no results, save for more missing persons reports with the same pattern. The only link seemed to be the date and the gender ratio. It wasn't a lot to go on.

This pattern of fruitless searching and continued for a few days until four more missing persons were reported, three women and one man. It seemed the murderer or whatever it was had gotten sloppy this time. They had disposed of the body of one of the women in the river and it was found downstream. Dean and Sam donned their Federal Marshal disguises again and went to the morgue to examine the body.

"Dean, what are we even doing here? The body was found in the river. We should be combing every inch of those riverbanks and finding this thing."

"We need more information Sam. And from what I heard on the police scanner, I think it's human. If not for the pattern I wouldn't even think of staying in this town."

"What did you hear," Sam asked, intrigued?

"Blood was drained, but not from a vampire or any of the other things that like to snack on humans. Throat was slit. Knife wound."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I know. That's why we're here. We still don't know what we're dealing with."

They went into the morgue and examined the body. It was pretty cut and dry what killed her and how she died. The coroner was called off and left the two alone. With him away, they swapped ideas back and forth, trying to find what a human would want in Portsmouth with human blood and death. There were no witches in town and no cult markings on the body. Dean was about to give up.

Sam took his gloves off, his mind searching for answers. He stretched out and his hand accidently brushed against the dead woman's foot. Suddenly, Sam's eyes rolled up into his head as he relived the horrible last moments of the deceased. Sam struggled with the vision, gasping and choking while Dean held onto his brother, knowing it was a vision having seen the signs before. This seemed to last for a few minutes, much longer than any of Sam's earlier visions and much much worse. Dean was about to call for help when Sam finally snapped out of it and called down, grabbing his throat as if to make sure it was intact.

Dean got them out of there as quickly as he could and grilled Sam on what happened.

"So you touched her and then you got a vision of her being killed?" Dean asked, trying to reason this out. Sam's psychic visions always freaked him out.

"Basically. It was like seeing a death echo, but instead I was the death echo."

"Did you see anything that could help?"

"Well the guy is definitely human. He dragged his victims through the woods and was having a hard time of it. I could feel his hand on my throat when he… um…"

"Dammit. This is just what I need. More freaky esp stuff. Anything else?"

"The last thing she saw was this tree."

"A tree? What kind?"

"Not sure. It was huge though. It's roots ran for at least thirty yards and into the river."

"You think that tree has something to do with this?"

"Pagans. They worship trees and nature. We dealt with this back with that ugly scarecrow."

"Fugly you mean. Let's call Bobby. Tell him what's up. You're turn."

Sam nodded and pulled out his phone, first sending a quick text to Lenore then dialed his surrogate father's number.

"Sam, good to hear from you."

"You too Bobby. Listen we found something that might interest you. We think these deaths have to do with pagan trees."

"What makes you say that?"

"I had another vision."

"Of what? Demon work?"

"We don't think so. This seems too human for them. Plus I didn't see any black eyes or smoke in the vision. "

"You know what caused it?"

"It happened after I touched a dead woman's foot."

"You relived her last moments?"

"Basically. There was this huge tree. Extremely long roots and it looked like it was starting to grow fruit."

"Well I've never heard of this reliving death thing but the tree seems familiar. I'll do some digging. I'll call ya in an hour."

"Thanks Bobby," Sam said and hung up.  
Lenore was worried about Sam and fussed all over him when they got back to the rooms. He explained what happened and what he saw. She didn't have any idea but she went and got pizza for the two of them. Bobby called back to Sam and they put him on speaker.

"Boys I'm on my way. You won't believe what you've stumbled into."

"What's going on Bobby," Dean asked, worried? If Bobby was coming then it was big.

"Yggdrasil. The Tree of Life," Bobby replied.

"The Tree of Life? Never heard of it."

"Ancient Norse myth, or so I thought. There's tons of lore on it but nothing is concrete. How long do those missing persons reports go back?"

"At least early nineteen hundreds," Sam replied.

"So you have a guy or a group of guys that finds a tree that can make you immortal. Catch is they have to kill people to do it. Not sure what it does but the tree bears fruit after ten people have been killed in front of it. You eat the fruit and you live longer. That's my guess anyway. I'll be there in about fifteen hours. You boys be careful in the meantime. Pagan's got his fill of men, but that doesn't mean he wont kill ya."

"We'll be careful. See you when you get here Bobby," Sam replied and closed his phone. He sighed in frustration. He didn't want anyone finding out about Lenore so soon but it seemed his hopes were dashed. Lenore felt apprehensive as well, but Sam had reassured her that Bobby was a good man and a fair one at that. Dean was just eager to get the hunt on. They decided to patrol the parks and try and save anyone they could before Bobby got there. They spent all night searching but still another body was found the next morning.

Dean was angry. The killer had slipped past him, Sam and Lenore to kill another woman. He knew he wouldn't be able to save everyone but it still hurt that he failed while actively trying. A knock on the motel room announced that Bobby had arrived. He walked in, gave Dean a hug and looked around for Sam.

Sam was sad. He felt guilty that he couldn't save the dead woman and now the killer only needed one more before getting what he wanted. He got a warning text from Dean saying Bobby was headed towards them before the knock came. Lenore jumped up and answered the door with a smile, hoping to make a good impression. "Hi there. You must be Bobby. I'm Lenore."

"Well hello. The boys didn't tell me they had some company."

"I just recently joined up with them. I'm somewhat of a hunter myself."

"Always good to meet new people. Now we should get down to business," Bobby said before laying down a map onto the table of the town, with an area circled. "Now best I can tell, the tree will be somewhere along here. From what Sam said about his vision, it would be on the bank so we don't have to look far."

"That's a half mile of land. How're we gonna tell that tree apart from any others," Lenore asked?

"The color. Yggdrasil isn't bothered by the seasons. I would bloom in winter just as well as in summer. While most of the trees around her will have started to lose some color and leaves, it won't have. It's also quite a bit bigger than the other trees."

"Ok. So burn it?"

"Basic idea."

"We also have to gank the cultists," Dean declared."

"Dean, they're people," Sam protested.

"Freaky immortal kill humans people Sam. They need a bullet."

"I'm with Dean on this one. We can't have them hurt other folks," Bobby agreed.

"Lenore. Your opinion," Sam asked?"

"They're hurting humans Sam. You know what would happen If the roles were reversed," she answered, talking about herself, not that Bobby realized.

Sam sighed in acceptance and started to load his pistol, as did everyone else in the room.

The boys played rock paper scissors to decide who held the heavy canister of fuel they used for their flamethrower. Sam won after Dean threw out scissors. Dean grunted in acceptance of his defeat and started prepping the flamethrower. Bobby meanwhile was loading shotguns and handed one to Lenore. A few knives were tucked away into sleeves and the hunters were ready.

They waited in the dark as Sam went to look for a boat they could borrow. Bobby chatted with Dean about random things while Lenore just stared at the river, waiting for Sam's return. Finally, the hum on an engine alerted the trio that Sam had returned. They piled into the boat and started motoring upstream, looking for the pagan tree.

As the boat rocked on the current of the water, the hunters were splashed with water and chilled by the wind. It was only due to the lack of light and the lack of a muzzle flash or noise heard that made the ambush they drove into so effective. Four tranquilizer darts, on for each hunter, hit them in the chest. As the hunters lost consciousness, the man dropped his rifle and swam to the boat, getting in and driving to Yggdrasil.

Dean was the first to wake up. He felt the stinging pain of where he was shot with the needle. His mind was still foggy from the drug used on him and he was tied up, "real good", he thought. He looked around and to his relief, saw everyone else in a similar state.

Just as Sam started waking up, their attacker walked back. His features couldn't be made out in the dark of the night, but he was a little shorter than Sam and walked with a brisk pace. Sam tried to call out to Bobby, but the elder hunter seemed more than just unconscious.

"I'm afraid that won't do any good. You see at his age, the dose I shot him with is most likely fatal," the man said sadly.

At the word "fatal," both Sam and Dean struggled against the ropes that bound them to get to their father figure. While they seemed to make no progress, Lenore woke up.

"Ahh. My guest of honor has awoken. The ceremony can finally begin," the man spoke with glee.

"Guest," Lenore asked, confused?

"But of course. Being the final sacrifice to Yggdrasil is a great honor. Your blood will wash the soil that feeds it and your essence will be absorbed into the roots. These in turn feed the world fruits, which I will eat to gain more life. I eat all nine and I will live for another ten years, as the river of time simply lets me anchor, forgotten."

"I won't let you touch her," Sam yelled and struggled harder.

"I welcome you to try Mr. Winchester. However, over the years I have become very proficient at many skills: Spellcasting, shooting, ambushing, and knot tying to name but a few."

This seemed to be the truth, as both brothers couldn't even get to the knives in their sleeves to cut themselves free. "You know who we are," Dean asked?

"Of course. The famous Winchesters. You boys and your Father have quite the reputation as hunters and amateur spellcasters. Some even call you Demon slayers. They also say Sam is gifted with premonition. It seems that was either an exaggeration or you can't control it. You would have seen my attack otherwise."

"Then you should know we get into these situations all the time and we survive," Dean quipped.

"Oh I have no intention of ending the Winchester legend. I simply need your female accomplice. After she is dead and I have immortality again I will release you three."

At this, he looked up at the clear skies, reading the stars. He looked at Lenore and said, "It's time," and grabbed and dragged her in front of the tainted tree. Sam tried even more, calling out to Lenore and trying to save her. She tried calling out to Sam but the man had her by the throat and it was hard to breathe.

As he brought Lenore to the spot that so many others had died in the name of immortality, he pulled her up roughly and pushed her down to her knees. Lenore felt a compulsion fall over her body, making her look up at the tree. As she did, the man drew his blade and placed it on her throat. "With your death, I will have life. Thank you for your sacrifice," he spoke and as the boys watched, horrified, Sam and Dean screaming for him to stop, he cut Lenore's throat and her vampire blood coated the ground in a spray.

She shuddered, and dropped to the ground, her heart pumping her essence onto the ground. Sam screamed and cried out her name, still trying to get to her. Dean simply sagged, defeated. Sam lost another girlfriend and he could do nothing to stop it.

As the blood was absorbed into the roots, Yggdrasil started to shudder. The leaves glowed bright blue and nine fruits appeared on its branches. Lenore's murderer grinned with triumph and started to devour all nine fruits with gluttony.

As he ate, Sam was in agony. Lenore, his Lenore, lay not ten feet from him, dead. The memories he had with her were running in his head, her sarcastic smile, her raw emotion. He could be himself with her, no lies, no hiding, and he failed. The anger, the pure rage and malice at the monster that took her from him grew and grew till his body was shaking.

Sam screamed in rage, his eyes, no longer seeing him as a human but instead as a creature to be killed, locked onto the thing and just as it devoured the last bite of the fruit and swallowed, the creature was thrown into the air and impaled onto a protruding tree branch.

The man coughed up some blood, then started laughing. To Dean's surprise, the pagan simply pulled himself off the branch and the wound closed shut. "I wasn't expecting Telekinesis. I guess I should have from one of Azazel's ilk. As you can see, Immortal does mean immortal," he said, smug and secure in his victory. His face contorted in agony and he screamed, clutching his mouth as vampire fangs sprouted from his gums in a splash of immortal blood. "What is this? What the hell is this?"

"When you drained Lenore, your tree got a dose of vampire blood. When you ate the fruit, you got it too. Sucks to be you bitch," Dean laughed.

As the man lay on the ground, stunned from his gums suddenly exploding, Lenore suddenly sat up and started crawling towards the newborn vampire. Sam tried to speak to her, but in Lenore's state, she couldn't hear him. All she could feel is overpowering hunger and the smell of fresh blood. As she reached her assailant, she sank her sharp fangs into his neck and drank deep, intent on taking her blood back. The vampire shrieked in pain and surprise of being fed on. As it lay being fed on, begging and pleading for Lenore to stop, the immortal properties of his blood healed Lenore's neck wound.

Just as she drained him dry and let him go, Lenore seemed to fully awaken. She looked around and saw the brothers and bobby still tied up. She crawled to them and cut their bonds. Sam hugged her tightly while Dean ran to Bobby and check his breathing. It was shallow and uneven. He needed a hospital soon. "Sam we need to get him help. Bobby's still hanging in there but I'm no doctor."

As Sam helps Dean carry Bobby to the boat, Lenore asks, "What happened? The last thing I remember was getting necktied by Jeremy Irons. Now I don't even feel the knife cut. How is that possible?"

"Lenore, you've been through a lot. Lets just get Bobby to a hospital and we can figure this all out later."

At Dean's words, the taste of the blood on her lips registers in her brain, as does the body and the blood on the ground. "Oh god. Did I do this? Did I feed on a human," Lenore said, shaking at what she already knew to be true.

"Lenore-"

"Did I?"

"Well to be fair, he wasn't exactly anywhere near human," Dean confirmed.

At Dean's words, Lenore ran into the forest. Sam started to follow after her but Dean pleaded with him to stay and help him keep Bobby alive. Sam nodded and they got him to a boat and drove it downstream, towards the town.

**At the hospital**

It had been close, but Bobby pulled through. Dean had bluffed it off as a hunting accident to the doctors and a US Marshal badge stopped them from asking more questions. They treated him and he was awake a few hours later.

Bobby laid in the hospital bed, hooked up to some machines and ate his jello as Sam explained Lenore and her and his relationship and the circumstances that led to them. Bobby was patient after an initial outburst of surprise and listened to what Sam and Dean had to say on the matter. When they were finished, he simply nodded and told them to still be careful.

Sam had tried texting and calling Lenore, but she seemed intent on vanishing for the moment. Sam wanted to go after her, but Dean was adamant on staying with Bobby until he healed up. Eventually they left and burned the pagan tree to the ground, along with the body of it's caretaker. After Bobby left the hospital, him and the boys went their separate ways after a customary beer. Dean fired up the Impala and started driving back towards the Roadhouse. He wanted some familiarity for a little while and maybe Ellen had a job for him.

As they drove Sam simply stared at the window, wondering where Lenore was now. She had left her truck and her clothes and was simply gone. Sam couldn't track her like that. He just hoped she would come back.

Dean tried to lighten the mood with some bad singing and got Sam to smirk a bit when he butchered Stairway to Heaven. "At least we know she's not dead," Dean said. "You remember what that dick said in the woods? We've got a reputation. Makes me feel good that all the monsters and demons and evil bitches know to fear us."

"Yeah I guess so. Dean I don't get why you aren't worried."

"About what?"

"My Psychic thing. You saw me throw that guy into the tree."

"Yeah but you did the same thing with that Max kid remember? It's nothing new."

"So you're not freaked out?"

"Of course I'm freaked out Sam. But you didn't mean to. You saw Lenore or thought you saw Lenore die and reacted. You had a vision of me being shot in the head and moved that china cabinet or whatever it was. Same situation."

"I guess."

"You should learn to control it though."

"Really? Why?"

"Craps tables. We'll never have to worry about money again."

Sam snorted and went back to watching the road. Dean glanced at his brother. He was worried, but at least he didn't have to watch another one die, not really. So Dean simply enjoyed the drive and his Def Leppard, thinking that if he drove fast enough, his worries and problems would just fall behind.

A/N: So here's the end of chapter three. It's definitely not the end and is only the beginning. For those reading please leave a review. I would love comments, ideas, basically any feedback. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next one.


End file.
